Posted: 9/6/2010 3:23:10 PM EDT
My one year old and I bought some fish for an old fish tank today. One is a puffer fish and the other a red cap fan tail. Name them, arfcom!
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Quoted: A) Most pet store employees are completely ignorant about what they are selling. It's just a job to them.Quoted: I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. Really? The guy at the pet store said they were both fresh water. If he dies within three days there is a return policy  B) Did you cycle the tank? If not your fishy's are dead... |
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Quoted: Quoted: A) Most pet store employees are completely ignorant about what they are selling. It's just a job to them.Quoted: I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. Really? The guy at the pet store said they were both fresh water. If he dies within three days there is a return policy B) Did you cycle the tank? If not your fishy's are dead... I agree. Those puffers like brackish water. They live in coastal mangrove swamps, IIRC. And yeah, you need to cycle the tank first. You can do this with pure ammonia (no surfactants), or a dead shrimp. |
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Quoted:
There are fresh water puffers but they can be VERY aggressive. When we were first married my wife set up a 55 gallon tank with 6 bumble bee puffers and a few othe fish. I talked her into buying a couple of small fresh water crabs help keep the bottom of the tank clean and i thought they kinda cool. Those crabs were in the tank for about 30 minutes when they caught the attention of the puffers. They tore those crabs apart and ate them in nothing flat. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
A) Most pet store employees are completely ignorant about what they are selling. It's just a job to them.
Quoted:
I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. Really? The guy at the pet store said they were both fresh water. If he dies within three days there is a return policy B) Did you cycle the tank? If not your fishy's are dead... This. Puffers are brackish. Uncycled tank means ammonia levels are going to spike hard in that small tank very soon and you will be looking at two floaters, though they could pull through, but they will have severely shortened life spans. |
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Quoted:
I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. If it's a dwarf puffer then fresh water is fine. The one in the picture looks a little bigger than a dwarf so I would guess it's a figure 8, which would then need brackish water to survive. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A) Most pet store employees are completely ignorant about what they are selling. It's just a job to them.
Quoted:
I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. Really? The guy at the pet store said they were both fresh water. If he dies within three days there is a return policy B) Did you cycle the tank? If not your fishy's are dead... I agree. Those puffers like brackish water. They live in coastal mangrove swamps, IIRC. And yeah, you need to cycle the tank first. You can do this with pure ammonia (no surfactants), or a dead shrimp. Okay so what exactly do I need to do? Husband told me to ask you guys. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A) Most pet store employees are completely ignorant about what they are selling. It's just a job to them.
Quoted:
I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. Really? The guy at the pet store said they were both fresh water. If he dies within three days there is a return policy B) Did you cycle the tank? If not your fishy's are dead... I agree. Those puffers like brackish water. They live in coastal mangrove swamps, IIRC. And yeah, you need to cycle the tank first. You can do this with pure ammonia (no surfactants), or a dead shrimp. Okay so what exactly do I need to do? Husband told me to ask you guys. First we need to know what kind of puffers you have so we can tell you what water conditions they need to survive. Next, to cycle the tank correctly, you will need an aquarium water test kit, along with some ammonia. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A) Most pet store employees are completely ignorant about what they are selling. It's just a job to them.
Quoted:
I can name the puffer KIA because he's going to need some salt in the aquarium. Really? The guy at the pet store said they were both fresh water. If he dies within three days there is a return policy B) Did you cycle the tank? If not your fishy's are dead... I agree. Those puffers like brackish water. They live in coastal mangrove swamps, IIRC. And yeah, you need to cycle the tank first. You can do this with pure ammonia (no surfactants), or a dead shrimp. Okay so what exactly do I need to do? Husband told me to ask you guys. Take the fish back. Cycle the tank. I used to mod an Aquarium forum long ago. Check one out and read the F.A.Q. documents for info on cycling as well sa how many fish you should keep in a tank. |
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You already got some decent advice regarding cycling the tank. Just learn the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia > Nitrite > Nitrate. It is broken down by aerobic bacteria. First two are horrible, but the last one is tolerable to many fresh/brackish water fish. Puffers don't handle nitrates as well as most fish, either. They also like warmer water than your fantail. They can both be comfortable at the same pH, though. Bottom line is that is not a great combo. I used to operate an aquarium shop years ago, took it from 800k a year to 2.4 mil/year gross, in 5 years. Didn't like my share of the profits and moved on. The shop finally, after gaining horrible reviews in spite of the makeover I gave it, closed earlier this year due to a "downturn in the economy." I honestly wish it was still there, I put a lot of work in that place, and I used to buy fish there when I was a kid.. 
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